Late last month, Phil Moran teased friends and fans on Facebook by posting photos of the new No. 2 car that he is preparing for Mike Smerigilo III Racing on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. Above the door was simply, "Driver X."

Other photos posted by drivers Max Zachem and Jimmy Zacharias - posing with crew chief and team manager Moran - briefly led people to believe either one had been hired to fill the seat vacated when Todd Szegedy was released Nov. 8. The speculation was so great that Moran had to post that no driver decision had been made.

The red herrings were officially exposed Wednesday, when MSR announced that 2012 Tour champion and 2013 runner-up Doug Coby will drive the No. 2 car in 2014. RaceDayCT.com's Shawn Courchesne first reported the story, which was then confirmed through a NASCAR press release.

The announcement capped an eventful day of driver moves on the Tour, after Tommy Barrett Jr. was officially revealed as the driver of Chris Our Racing's No. 22 car.

“We’re really, really looking forward to working with Doug,” Moran said in the press release. “Doug doesn’t have anything to prove to me. He’s got a great reputation as a good, clean driver and that’s what we’re looking for."

Coby's move was made possible when his previous team - the No. 52 owned by Wayne Darling - declared it was going to only race part time next season. Not wanting to conduct business on a race-by-race basis - as he had until Darling launched a full-time effort in 2012 - Coby decided it was better to go with the sure thing.

“It has nothing to do with equipment or people, because the 52 team is phenomenal, but it really is a stability thing,” Coby said in the press release. “I feel like the 2 team is a really stable opportunity for me to move along in racing, and I’m really excited for that opportunity.”

While the photos posted by Zachem and Zacharias created some confusion, many WMT insiders believed Coby was going to be Smeriglio's choice all along.